


X is for Xenophobia

by Solstice0612



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Aschen (Stargate), Episode: s04e16 2010, Gen, Missing Scenes, POV Jack O'Neill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 06:12:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15066884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solstice0612/pseuds/Solstice0612
Summary: Jack gets a bad feeling but nobody believes him.





	X is for Xenophobia

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Many thanks to Fignewton for organizing this Alphabet Soup challenge and for her quick and insightful beta.

**SGC, May 1, 2001**

“You keep using terms like a 'planet of accountants' and a 'total lack of humor,' but Jack, these are not appropriate terms to evaluate the Aschen. Some cultures go to great lengths to appear circumspect in certain occasions. We all have our sense of etiquette and protocol. Theirs is just different.”

Daniel speaks to me in a slow low tone, a clear sign that if I keep insisting he’ll shoot my argument down with a deadly zinger. We are in his office, standing in front of a board he’s using to translate the proposal the Aschen gave us in our last trip to P4C-970. He’s busy and wants me out of the way. But all I can do is insist and hope that he’ll think himself out of this box.

“Look, I’m not denying that sometimes I rush to judgment. But you know what? My gut reactions have kept us alive thus far and is now telling me that the Aschen are too good to be true.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re sore the Tollans played us,” he says, making his box a little tighter.

“You didn’t find it highly suspicious that the they made a 180 with their policy of no-weapon sharing?”

“If anything, the Aschen have been completely consistent with their offer. Why all the animosity?”

“I can’t explain. Something is not right.”

“If you really believe this, then talk to Hammond. But if you expect me to back you up, it won’t happen. I’ll argue that with Aschen support we could greatly expand our capacity for exploration, not to mention our technological development. Sam says they are centuries ahead of us. They can help Earth so much, in so many ways,” says Daniel, his hands punctuating his words.

“Yeah, like good Greeks bearing gifts.”

“Well, it’s cliché time, grab a seat.”

I let the deadly zinger fill the space. I know that I’ll be alone in trying to figure this one out.

 

**SGC – Briefing room, May 25, 2001**

“So how do these numbers work?” asks General Hammond, seated at the end of the long conference table, next to Senator Robert Kinsey and Ambassador Joe Faxon. I’m only there because Hammond insisted as one of the few people who have met the Aschen face to face, but I’m expected to keep my mouth shut.

“General, the Aschen have sent us their wish list for the treaty. Most of their demands are quite reasonable so my recommendation to the president will be that we move forward,” says Kinsey. “Their main point is that we gradually slow down our population growth by 30% because it is, as we well know, unsustainable, so I agree that—”

“That’s only so because the use of the gate is limited. There are plenty of inhabitable planets out there that are practically empty,” I interrupt him. So much for keeping quiet.

“We don’t have the resources to set up colonies all over the place, Colonel,” says Kinsey.

Faxon, who must see how this cookie is gonna crumble, jumps in the conversation. “The Aschen have assured us that, in their experience, by eliminating poverty and disease while improving access to family planning and education, people focus more on professional pursuits and will naturally grow smaller families.”

“And we all know this to be true in our own country, where by the grace of God resources are plentiful. Yet we could use some help addressing certain unbalances in our population,” adds Kinsey.

I know a red herring when I see one, so this time I keep my mouth shut.

“General, as a condition to join their Confederation, the Aschen have asked us to begin slowing population growth in those areas of the world where it is highest and resources are most scarce. They have offered us all kinds of medical treatments to address endemic health crises in places like Africa and Latin America. We could end worldwide poverty and disease,” says Faxon with enthusiasm. However, I’m not quite as comfortable talking about whole regions of the world in this way, even with the best intentions. I know the road to hell. I’ve been to the damned place, and it sucks.

“Will you be consulting with the nations involved forehand?” I ask in a friendly tone.

“Colonel, why do you think they wouldn’t welcome Aschen assistance with open arms?”

“I just have a little problem with using the most vulnerable among us to comply with the Aschen demands,” I respond, but I get a pointed look from Hammond telling me I have gone too far.

“How do you propose that we explain to the world that we must reduce our population growth by 30%? That’s a staggering number," says Hammond.

“General, the Aschen, are god sent. We must trust their vision," affirms Kinsey. "Perhaps one day, when the world is ready, we can discuss these minor details more openly. All that matters now is that they keep us safe from the evil that has been brought upon us by opening the Stargate.”

I can’t stand this anymore. I know I’m embarrassing Hammond but I need to speak up, so I shoot with both barrels.

“If you think a race as powerful as the Aschen will not take advantage of us, then you’re delusional. They don’t share our values and deep down they don’t like us. We don’t know anything about them. We don’t know their home world nor the other planets in their confederation. We’re making a huge leap of faith on a people we don’t know and it isn’t gonna go well.”

“Colonel O’Neill!” jumps Hammond halting my tirade. “I appreciate your candidness and we’ll take your points under advisement. Needless to say, you are not at liberty to discuss our meeting with anyone. You know the drill. You are dismissed.”

Too much honesty will get you thrown out of any meeting. I know I’m right but I’m barred from disclosing how bad things are gonna get.

 

**Goa’uld Space Station, June 20, 2001**

“Jacob, get ready to extract us!” shouts Daniel, right before the transporter rings descend on us to take us to safety. We leave behind a new type of surveillance equipment and a highly effective bio weapon ready for remote deployment, all courtesy of our new best friends, the Aschen. I so hope they are on our side.

“What happened?” asked Jacob.

“Same old, same old. Got in, did the deed, got chased off, went home,” I say, examining my slightly singed arm for injuries.

We stick around in our cloaked Tel'tak so Daniel and Selmac can listen in on the Goa’uld summit discussions and gather intelligence.

Suddenly Daniel turns towards me. “Oh my god! That’s Osiris. It’s Sarah! Jack, I have to go back.”

“That’s a negative. We can’t jeopardize the op.”

“But Jack—”

“Daniel, there are millions counting on us. I’m sorry.”

“He’s correct,” adds Jacob, putting a hand on Daniel’s shoulder for support. “If we go back in they’ll grow more suspicious of our earlier incursion and leave. We may never get another chance.”

My teammate nods but I’m sure we aren’t his favorite people, at least, I’m not. The Aschen has dampened our already bruised friendship.

The odd voices of the Goa’uld continue to come through the com system. Soon they grow angry and the discussion stops.

“Jacob, who is this Anubis?” asks Daniel.

“He’s really bad news. The Goa’uld banished him. Even they could not take his atrocities.”

“Wouldn’t Anubis take over if we kill them?” I ask.

The metallic voice of Selmac responds, “That’d be the worst possible outcome, so do you think your new friends would be able to stop his Jaffa?”

“That’s the one thing I’m sure about the Aschen. Their weapons are deadly and highly effective.”

“If you are sure, then we should proceed.”

And we do. I take pity on Daniel and distract him with another argument about the Aschen, so he won’t have a chance to hear his friend die. But his distress colors his arguments and by the time we arrive at Ravanna’s solar system where the Tok’ra are getting ready to move to a new base, he’s no longer speaking to me. As we reach the planet, we hear Carter on the radio.

“Base to SG-niner, we are under attack. Please respond.”

“Carter, this is SG-niner, over.”

“We are under attack, sir. The gate is under Goa’uld control. I think you should contact the Aschen, over.”

“Roger that. Stand by.” We can see a number of mother ships in orbit and I know we have enough poison in our cargo to wipe them out.

“Jack. Let’s do it,” says Daniel.

“What about the Jaffa, what about the Tok’ra and Teal’c down there?”

“Can we bring them on board?”

I consider this for a moment and grab my radio. “SG-niner here. Carter, do you have access to transportation rings?”

“We do. Are you in range?”

“Daniel, contact the SGC and explain what’s happening,” I say while Jacob brings our only three survivors on board. Elliot is not in good shape. We drag him off the rings and the two Carters quickly use them to deliver deadly bio-weapons to all the ships in range. Teal’c flies our Tel’tak keeping our location as untraceable as he can. As the effects of the Aschen toxin spreads, the Ha’taks begin to fire on each other, making our mission even easier.

We go down to the planet and when we fly over the gate we find a sea of corpses. The Aschen must have dialed in and delivered one of their bio-weapons. Even though we are fighting for our survival, wiping out so many lives in one go shouldn’t be so easy.

“I hope you guys know what you are doing,” I tell Daniel.

I can see that he feels bad for such staggering loss of life but I doubt it will prevent him from making a deal with the devil. In fact, the massacre is good news for TPTB and it does not take us long to find Anubis and get his ass neutralized. The Goa’uld are history and my objections seem even more irrelevant.

Kinsey, the architect of the treaty with the Aschen, takes full credit for our victory as he makes the announcement in the UN headquarters that Earth has been offered membership in the Aschen Confederation. This is just a formality since the treaty has been approved and signed months ago.

Like everyone else, Hammond is watching the proceedings on television in his office. I say hello without enthusiasm, and leave a letter of resignation on his desk. He’ll find it once he tires of the media frenzy unleashed on the TV screen.

 

**Minnesota, Jack’s cabin, July 9, 2002**

The guys had always talked about a gigantic party for my eventual retirement, but I wasn't in the mood. I wrote my final report and asked General Hammond to make public the announcement of my departure when I was no longer in town. Once I get to my cabin, I send a nice email to everyone about what an honor it was serving with them, which is heartfelt. I grab a large drink and go outside to fish in my fishless pond.

One by one my teammates come to the cabin and I give them all the closure they need. I withdraw from their lives as they move on to a highly lucrative lecture circuit. My privacy is well protected by many who don’t want me talking to the press, so I’ve spent this last year mostly in solitude thinking about the Aschen. I reach a few conclusions, which I think are worthy of consideration.

Not much more is known about their home world. Now that the Stargate project is public, access to the gate has become even more tightly controlled, so if some have visited their world, they are not telling.

All the planets in their Confederation that we know about are agrarian societies. Whole worlds dedicated to non-stop farming. What do they do with all that food? Who do they serve with such constant harvesting? Because that food is not coming to feed people here on Earth, in spite of the Aschen promises of quick prosperity for all.

My wild guess is that their planet is so overpopulated that they have become overly sensitive to the issue. Yet, why not go off-world and set up a colony or two? They haven’t done that—we asked them. It is not in their nature to be away from their home planet for long.

In fact, they don’t have a big presence on Earth either. One could never accuse them of a military takeover. I think they just don’t like mingling with their galactic neighbors. And if the news I’ve heard about the Tok’ra and Jaffa dying out for lack of symbiotes is true, there will be no risk of our allies ever coming back. Even Thor has not returned, but I hope one day he will. I hope all of them will, even the Tok’ra. As a royal pain in the ass as they were, I hope that they are still out there, keeping up with the good fight.

If I have to choose a word to describe the self-imposed isolation of the Aschen, I would use _xenophobic_. They just don’t like anyone who is too different from themselves. I bet what remains of my battered soul that the Aschen will finally come out to play when the galactic playground is empty and it has become all their own. Not sure how, but I’m certain that they can do it. Because, why develop so many bio-weapons when your only neighbors in space are a bunch of farmers?

This is my version of the story, but I know nobody wants to hear it.


End file.
